Can you say Road Trip?!?! We just got back from an 16 hour drive (round trip) and while it was long, it made me reminisce about the days when we first started dating. My husband and I started our relationship off by him driving me home from school on his way home for breaks and some weekends throughout college. This was a 5 hour drive so we had a lot of time to talk, get to know each other, and have some pretty epic sing-a-longs and dance parties. We are veterans to road tripping and have learned a few things along the way which you can read here, but as far as everyday use, how are you supposed to keep your car organized?? Here’s what I’ve come up with:

Get car washes regularly and utilize the vacuums. This is huge for me because if the outside looks clean, it makes me want to make sure the inside matches. Also, here in Wisconsin salting the roads is a big thing so the car gets extra grimy from that. With a dog too, vacuuming out the car regularly is important to me because I don’t want dog hair all over me and neither do my passengers. That being said, we have this seat cover for dogs that works wonders. It’s also waterproof which we learned when Steve (our Australian Shepard) had an accident in the back seat….

Get a car organizer. I have this car organizer from The Container Store and I love how durable it is and easy to collapse. In this organizer I have all my reusable bags for grocery shopping and any seasonal items.

Look at seasonal necessities. For winter in Wisconsin, I need to make sure I have an ice scraper and snow brush. I also have this tall bin from The Container Store for all the smaller seasonal items like extra gloves, scarf, hat and an umbrella. These bins fit in the organizer really well so you can mismatch sizes! You can even go as far as having a bin for each member of the family if you wanted.

Decide what your needs are. With is just being our dog, the seat cover is all we really need for him, but if you have kids, having a car bin with a few toys or books is a good way to keep their toys organized (not mixing and matching house toys and on the go toys) and it will give them something to look forward to during their car rides (Pro-Tip from my MIL!!).

Snacks -- because who has time to be hangry? A snack bin of non-perishable items will come in handy so often!! I use a smaller version of my seasonal items bin which you can find here.

Be sure to restock/update your bins appropriately. Restock on the snacks, switch out your seasonal necessity bins, and update the toy bin.

Think of the other odds and ends. I have a lint roller in my glove box along with a roll of packaging tape (every time I go to the post office to mail a box I always forget to tape it beforehand and end up buying another roll of tape. I finally learned and just put one in my car!!). I also have a tire pressure gauge, napkins/tissues and a car charger. The other thing is a spot for garbage. On longer road trips we have a bag in the car, but just day to day I use the door pocket. Just be sure to empty it regularly!

I hope these tips make your car rides more enjoyable & more organized :)Where is your favorite place to go on road trips to??Until next time!Hugs & love,Emily

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Emily has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University. There she learned how valuable organization can be in being productive. She chose to use this knowledge and help others achieve this productivity and optimization in their homes and small businesses. Read & Enjoy and as always, let us know if you have any questions!